Oyster-can.



L. E. STEEL.

OYSTER GAN.

APPLIUATION FILED 111211.27, 1910.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

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LEONARD R. STEEL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

oY'sTER-CAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 27, 1910.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, LEONARD R. citizen of the United States, Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oyster-Cans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a shipping can designed more especially for use in shipping oysters and the like.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a novel container or holder of that type in which a vacuum chamber surrounds the contents of the container to reduce to a minimum the temperature changing effect of the surrounding air.

Another object of the'invention is to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character so as to be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and eiiicient in use, and composed -of comparatively few parts.

Another object of the invention is the employment of a novel display device for indicating the character and quality of the oysters contained in the can.

A further object is a novel arrangement of freezing and vacuum chambers around the oyster containing receptacle.

With these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention Figure l is a front view of the shipping can. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof. Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections on line 3-3 and 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the parts of the combined tray and cover for the oyster holder.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, A. designates the casing of the device and B the cover therefor, the casing being set into a protective crate C which consists of metal sides and bottom slats 6 and 7 and connecting bands 8. The cover is sealed to the casing by sealin wires 1 so that the can cannot be opene in transit.

STEEL, a residing at D TWithin the casing is an inner jar D which 1s made of glass, earthenwvare, or the like, and is open at its top, there being a shoulder 9 around the upper end of the j ar to support a cover 10 which has a handle 1l. The lower end of the jar is reduced at l2 to set into a sunken portion of the casing.

The casing consists of inner and outer shells 13 and 14 which are of different diameters so as to provide a vacuum chamber l5. The outer shell has its upper end shaped into a frustum of a cone at 16 so that the cover B will have a snug fit thereon. The bottom 17 of the inner shell has a sunken center or well 18 into which the reduced end of the jar sets. This sunken portion 18 of the bottom sets slightly into a ring 20 that has lugs 21 at its bottom edge that are riveted to the bottom 22 of the outer shell and this ring is riveted air-tight to the part 18 of the inner bottom 17. The ring 20 incloses a vacuum 23 that communicates through perforations 24E in the ring with the vacuum chamber 15. Surrounding the outer shell is a reinforcing band 25 that is riveted thereto and serves to support the bottom of the casing out of Contact with the crate. The bottom 22 is provided with a nipple 26 which can be connected with an exhausting pump, the said nipple being sealed by a plug or cap 27 when the dead-air space of the casing is exhausted. The inner shell is considerably larger than the jar D so that an annular ice chamber 28 will surround the This chamber can be drained from the bottom through a pipe 29 that connects with the well 18 and eX- tends through the walls of the casing, there being a cap stopper 30 on the outer end of the pipe. To prevent the stopper from being lost, the same is attached to the casing by a chain 31, which, together with the stopper is set into a depression 33 in the casing so as not to project outwardly beyond the external surface of the casing and thus permit the latter to be placed in or moved from the crate without diiiiculty.

Cover B is made of two shells or sections -33 and 34 so as to provide a vacuum chamber 35 and thus prevent the outside temperature from cooling the contents of the can. The cover has a handle 36 to facilitate its removal. The inner section 33 of the cover is frusto-conical to fit the tapering portion 16 of the casing. The upper edge of the casing is slightly reduced at 37 to form a shoulder for receiving the combined display tray and inner cover for the casing. This combined tray and cover E consists of a cover section 38 which has an annular flange 39 that fits on the shoulder 37 of the casing and on this section 3S is formed an upwardly extending cylindrical flange 40 that constitutes a holder for a dished out portion or other `tray 41 in which is contained sample stock to display the contents of the can or jar. This tray is sealed by a glass cover 42 that has a depending peripheral rim 43 that fits over and around the flange 40 of the cover section 38.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily ap parent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- 1. The combination of a casing including a vacuum chamber, a cover fitted on the casing and including a vacuum chamber, a container arranged within the casing and surrounded by an ice chamber, a cover for the container, and a device forming a cover for the ice chamber, said device being hollow and transparent at its top to form an exhibiting tray.

2. The combination of a casing including inner and outer shells, inclosing a vacuum chamber, a perforated ring secured to the, bottoms of the shells and holding the latter in concentric relation, a jar arranged within the casing and of less diameter than the in ner shell to provide a surrounding ice cham-v ber, and a cover for the casing.

3. The combination of a casing including inner and outer shells connectedv together at their upper ends, a perforated ring connecting the bottoms of the shells together, the bottom of the inner shell being sunken and set into the ring, the space inclosed by the shells being exhausted of air, a jar having a reduced lower end set into the sunken portion of the said body, there vbeing an ice chamber surrounding the jar, a cover for the jar, and a cover for the casing.

4;. The combination of a casing composed of inner and outer shells having their upper ends connected together, the outer shell being tapered at its upper end, a perforated ring rigidly secured to and disposed between the bottom of the shells, the space between the shells being exhausted of air, a cover composed of inner and outer shells to form an air-exhausted chamber and the inner shell being shaped to lit the inner end of the casing, and a container mounted in the casing and surrounded by a cooling chamber.

5. The combination of a casing, a cover therefor, a container in the casing, a cover for the container, and a display tray fitted to the casing and disposed between the said covers.

6. The combination of a casing, a cover therefor, a container in the casing, a cover for the container, a display tray fitted to the casing and disposed between the said covers, said display tray consisting of a chambered base section, a tray element disposed therein, and a transparent cover extending over the element and tted on the base section.

7. The combination of a casing, a container in the casing and surrounded by an ice chamber, a device closing the top of the chamber, said device being chambered to display a sample of the contents of the container, and a cover disposed over the device and fitted to the casing.

8. The combination of a casing including inner and outer shells connected together at their upper ends, a perforated ring connecting the bottoms of the shells together, the bottom of the inner shell having a sunken portion extending into the ring, a drainage device extending through the casing and communicating with the sunken portion oit the inner shell, a jar having its lower end seated in the said sunken portion, a cover for the jar, and a cover Vfor the casino:

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' LEONARD It. STEEL.

I/Vitnesses:

CHARLES S.` CLARK, THOMAS F. BEvAN, V

Copies o f this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Qommssoner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

